US Supreme Court poised to take up same-sex marriage
Sooner or later, it seems, the US Supreme Court will rule definitively on same-sex marriage 鈥� a moment that couldn鈥檛 come too soon for advocates and opponents of gay marriage.
But it didn鈥檛 happen Friday 鈥� the first day of 2015 when the high court could have announced its intention to take up an issue that has rattled US society and politics.
Still, the court could have something to say on same-sex marriage Monday morning when it issues new orders, or perhaps the following Friday following a conference of the Supreme Court justices when they would have another opportunity to discuss several cases involving state bans on gay marriage.
Increasing the likelihood of court action is a recent split on the issue between federal appeals courts.
Longtime court-watcher Lyle Denniston sets the scene at :
鈥淭he Court last considered a group of appeals filed by same-sex聽couples at the start of the current Term [2014-2015], and chose on October 6 to bypass all five cases.聽At that time, there was no current split among federal appeals courts on the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage or on聽official recognition of already existing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.聽Since then, however, a split has developed with the November decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, upholding bans聽in the four states in its geographic region.
鈥淎ppeals from the Sixth Circuit ruling are now pending at the Court, along with an appeal from a federal trial judge鈥檚 ruling upholding a ban in Louisiana.聽Those are the five cases the Justices were scheduled to examine at the first聽Conference聽after returning from a winter recess.鈥�
The five cases noted here are in Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio.
To supporters of same-sex marriage, momentum in their direction seems unstoppable.
Gay and lesbian couples are now able to legally marry in 36 states and the District of Columbia. That means some 70 percent of Americans live in places where same-sex marriages may be licensed and performed.
鈥淭he overwhelming tidal wave of court rulings over the last year has put America on the cusp of nationwide marriage equality,鈥� Human Rights Campaign legal director Sarah Warbelow said in a statement this week, noting that since this time last year, state statutes or constitutional amendments banning marriage rights for same-sex couples have been overturned by state or federal courts in 28 states.
That recently included Florida when the US Supreme Court declined to extend the stay on a federal court ruling striking down that state鈥檚 ban on marriage for same-sex couples.
On Friday, a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit on same sex marriage in Georgia was denied, which means the case can move forward. Also on Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied Idaho Gov. Butch Otter鈥檚 request for聽a full court聽review of its October 7 3-0 decision striking down Idaho鈥檚 ban on same-sex marriage.聽
鈥淭he Ninth Circuit correctly recognized that there is no need to reconsider the panel鈥檚 decision that Idaho鈥檚 marriage ban violates basic constitutional guarantees of equal protection,鈥� Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in a statement. 鈥淭he Ninth Circuit鈥檚 decision striking down the Idaho marriage ban is consistent with the rulings of three other federal appeals courts鈥︹��
To many active supporters of traditional marriages 鈥� one man and one woman 鈥� all of this paints a picture of activist judges determining a profoundly moral and in some cases religious issue that is the bedrock of families and society.
They note that in cases where individuals have the opportunity to decide the issue at the state level, the outcome most often favors traditional marriage.
"Federal judges are acting as if the US Supreme Court has ordered same-sex marriage to be imposed, but in reality the Court has ruled that states have the right to define marriage,鈥� Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said this week. 鈥淲e demand that the US Supreme Court act immediately to review the pending marriage case before them and swiftly reaffirm that states have the right to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman."
Meanwhile, polls show a steady shift in public opinion regarding gay marriage. The Human Rights Campaign analyzes the data this way:
鈥淕allup puts support for marriage equality at 55 percent 鈥� an astonishing 15 points increase from just 5 years ago 鈥� with聽other polls聽showing support at even higher margins.聽And support for same-sex marriage rights continues to grow in virtually every demographic group.聽According to ABC News/Washington Post,聽77 percent of adults under age 30聽favor marriage equality.聽 Forty percent of Republicans 鈥� an all-time high and jump of 16 points in under two years 鈥� now support marriage for gay and lesbian couples, while the number of Catholics supporting marriage has grown to 62 percent,聽according to the New York Times.聽 These numbers continue to grow, with no indication that support will slow down.鈥�
